Is Chesprocott Better Now Than 2 Years Ago?

I am running for re-election to the Town Council to represent the 3rd District on November 4. While my seat is in the 3rd District, every vote I cast affects the entire town of Cheshire—and I take that responsibility seriously.

The past two years have brought more challenges and difficult decisions than I faced in my previous four years of service. One of the most significant has been our ongoing involvement with the Chesprocott Health District.

Two years ago, the Council majority voted to overturn the prior Council’s decision to leave Chesprocott and join the South-Central Health District—a move that would have saved taxpayers more than $100,000 in fees. Since then, Chesprocott has been plagued by instability: three different health directors in two years, constant employee turnover, and a temporary trailer office in the ArtsPlace parking lot costing more than $11,000 per month in rent.

Attempts by the Democratic majority to fix things have only created more problems. An MOU was drafted but never approved. They then appointed Jim Jinks to the Chesprocott board of directors—a clear conflict of interest, since he must recuse himself from critical discussions on fees and policy, effectively silencing one of Cheshire’s voices on the board.

Last year, when asked if Cheshire had projects eligible for leftover ARPA funds, our Council chairman requested $350,000 for Chesprocott—even though the district already had a $1.2 million reserve. He assumed the funds would support ArtsPlace renovations. Instead, with the support of Council vice chair Jim Jinks, Chesprocott broke its lease with Cheshire and moved elsewhere, costing $81,000 in penalties—while we continue paying one of the highest per capita rates in the state.

Through a resident’s FOI request, we also discovered hundreds of emails between our chairman, vice chair, and Chesprocott staff—interference that has only added to dysfunction. Among them was a communication from Mr. Jinks, distributed by the health director, urging all of their volunteers to “vote Democrat”—something no public health department should ever be involved in.

Some want to blame one individual for these struggles. But the truth is the problems run much deeper. Undermining, interference, and a lack of accountability have all contributed—and the results speak for themselves.

Are we better off today than we were two years ago? The answer is no. We’ve seen unusually high turnover, wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars, and failed to provide the stable, effective health services Cheshire deserves.

Can Chesprocott be saved? Maybe—but it will require major reforms and, just as importantly, the removal of political interference. Only then can the organization focus on fixing its internal problems and serving our community effectively.

For more background, I encourage you to read this recent Cheshire Record article: Town Charter, Anyone?